When Akari Met V
by Tsukarete
Summary: The first time Akari saw V, it was a mere glance through a video call. Oldersiblingshipping oneshot. Spoilers up to episode 68.


The first time she saw him, she was fifteen. Her father called home to say he was on a new expedition and would not be home for a little while longer. In the background of the video-call, there was a white-haired boy typing on a computer. He looked up for a second, and their eyes met. She looked away, blushing. When she glanced up again, he had already left the room.

* * *

The second time she saw him was when he called their house to tell them there was an accident, that her father was not coming home. Her mother, home at the time, burst into tears, hugging a somewhat baffled and upset Yuma to her chest. Her grandmother quietly left the room, though later she was found in her son's room, yelling that she always knew he would get into trouble one day. Akari was stunned speechless for a full five minutes, before sobbing. Through her tears, she did not notice his own tear-streaked face. This time it was she who left the room, to throw herself on her bed and sob herself to sleep.

* * *

The third time she saw him, it was the semi-finals of the World Duel Carnival. He was dueling Tenjou Kaito, while her brother watched. She found out what had really happened to her father. Through her outrage at Dr. Faker, she also felt sympathy for Chris. She knew the pain of being separated from a beloved parent. She could not imagine, however, the pain he must have felt from having his younger brothers sent away. While she and Yuma argued, she loved her little brother. She would never have been able to send him away.

* * *

The fourth time she saw him, she crashed into him. They were both on their way to the Heartland tower, the last place they had seen Yuma and Tron. V looked as if he had just gotten out of bed, messy hair and mismatching shirt and pants. She was a more presentable, as she had been awake the whole time, watching her little brother and Tron duel in the finals match. Brushing herself off, she did not give him more than a glance before taking off again, lagging behind Tetsuo, Cathy, Takashi, and Tokunosuke, along with III and IV. V quickly caught up to her, even passing her due to his longer stride. In the back of her mind, she recognized him as the man who had told her brother about what happened to her father. Normally, she would have grabbed V and demanded an explanation, but her concern for her younger brother overrode everything else.

* * *

Yuma's friends and the Arclight brothers managed to make it to the center of the Heartland Tower. There they found Yuma, Shark, and Kaito, exhausted, dirty, but ultimately victorious, just having beaten Dr. Faker and saved Haruto and Astral. Kotori was off to the side, hovering over a badly damaged Orbital 7. Akari rushed over to her younger brother, sweeping him into a crushing hug, despite his loud complaints for her to let go already, he was perfectly fine. Chris, III, and IV stood off to the side, looking around anxiously for their father but unable to find him. III, tearing up, clutched at Chris, while IV hesitantly moved closer to his siblings, wanting comfort but not willing to show what he felt was weakness near so many others. After ascertaining that with the heavily damaged machinery it was too dangerous to try to save those sent to the Astral World, the group made their way out of the building.

* * *

Yuma offered to let Arclight and Tenjou brothers stay at his house, since he felt it was his fault he could not save Tron, and Dr. Faker had fallen into the portal to the Astral World. Akari only momentarily protested, since she realized that with the Arclight and Tenjou brothers close by, she could find out more about the Astral World and how to get there to save her father. Haru was surprised when her grandchildren came home with five people more than they had left with. She had no objection to them staying there, especially as she already knew Haruto and III. Because of the lack of spare bedrooms, the Tenjou brothers took Yuma's bedroom while the Arclight brothers camped out in the living room. After they settled in, Akari dragged V into her computer room for some privacy. She spent hours interrogating him about the expedition her father went on, what exactly they were researching, and if he knew of any safe way to reach the Astral World. He told her all he knew, sparing no detail. When they finished, she did the same with Kaito, though because his father had left him mostly out of the loop, it did not last nearly as long. Akari holed herself in her computer room, frantically trying to find a way to save her father and by extension, Tron.

* * *

Chris woke up in the middle of the night, needing to use the bathroom. As he passed by the computer room on the way back from the bathroom, he noticed the sliver of light coming out of the slightly ajar door. Peeking in, he saw Akari nodding off at the keyboard, trying to stay awake to search more but losing the fight. He slipped into the room, gently laying a hand on Akari's shoulder. Quickly shushing her, he whispered that she would get no farther if she was exhausted. Giving in, she allowed V to half-carry her to her room, her sleepiness causing her to stumble a bit. Smiling softly, he helped her to her bed. V went back to the living room, careful not to wake his siblings, and fell back asleep.

* * *

It was nearly a week after the WDC, and they were no closer to reaching the Astral World. Akari and V spent more and more time together, trying to come up with ways to save their fathers. Yuma, III, and IV had to go to school, though III and IV needed Akari to drive them, since they went to different schools than Yuma. Kaito and Haruto spent most of their day together, trying to make up for lost time. The more time Akari and V spent together, the closer they got. While they knew of their mutual attraction, they agreed it was not the time, and they would wait until their fathers were safe and home.

* * *

Somehow, Akari and V made a breakthrough in the search to rescue their fathers. However, the machinery needed was in Heartland, which following the disastrous finals was closed off. Kaito knew the ins and outs of Heartland, since he lived there for several years. He was able to help everyone sneak in, avoiding security patrols and making the quickest path towards the central tower. The machinery Dr. Faker used to attack the Astral World was now used to create a somewhat unstable portal. However, with the King's Key and Astral's power, the portal was stabilized, and the group stepped into a new world.

* * *

After many harrowing escapes, the group managed to come upon Kazuma and Tron, who had found each other while trapped in the Astral World. The families had a tearful reunion, and then quickly made their way back to the portal. The Arclight family moved back to their own home, and the Tenjou brothers left with them, seeing as Dr. Faker was still lost somewhere in the Astral World and they no longer had a home. Akari, though jubilant that her father was home safe and sound, felt somewhat empty. She missed spending time with V.

* * *

The next time she saw V, it was at a family party. Her mother had come back from traveling the world searching for her husband. After getting the whole story, Mirai demanded that they throw a party to celebrate the safe return of her husband and Byron, who had abandoned the name Tron. Akari hovered near the punch bowl, feeling slightly sickened by the lovey-dovey atmosphere surrounding her parents. V came up to her, suggesting they go take a walk. She quickly agreed, and they set off into the cool nighttime air. They spent hours talking, pausing only once when Yuma called her to find out where they were. Akari and V found themselves near the docks, a full moon shining down on the water. There they stopped, gazing out over the water. Slowly, their hands reached for each other, lightly grasping. They turned to face each other, moving closer and closer until they finally kissed.

* * *

They arrived back at the Tsukumo house, red-faced and somewhat out of breath. The Arclight family left then, V giving a soft promise to return soon. Akari sighed, while Yuma loudly asked what was wrong with his sister, and if V did anything bad to her, he would kick his butt. She gave her brother a noogie, before heading off to bed.


End file.
